Michelle Leduc, RMT

02/22/2026

🃏Day 112. Jackpot Ultra 🎰. 100 miles. 18:43:44.
🥇1st female 🥈2nd overall.

After a rough 2025 for running, this race found its way onto my calendar. Something to keep me training through the winter. To rebuild. To see if I could still run a faster 100 miler before shifting toward the longer, slower road efforts waiting later this year.

The race was going well. Until it wasn’t.

I held a steady sub-6:00/km pace through the first half. Paces I hadn’t touched since 2016. Then at 50 miles, everything came up. Tailwind, gels, Sour Patch Kids. All of it.
From there, it became a fight to get calories in and keep moving forward.

The final 50K was a grind. Hard ground, concrete, and elevation took their toll. My body stopped cooperating. Lots of walk breaks. Lots of problem solving. Managing heart rate. Trying to catch my breath. Just finding a way forward.

That’s part of ultras. They unfold over a long time, spatially and temporally. A lot can happen. Especially training through winter for a desert race.

Loop courses have their own rhythm. You see the same people again and again. Familiar faces become anchors.

We connected with fellow Canadian Dennene and her crew Amanda while she tackled the 48-hour event with strength and positivity. Watching her continue to move and smile was inspiring. Ultrarunning has a way of bringing the right people into your orbit at the right time.

A huge thank you to Shiloh who crewed and paced me through the toughest parts. She ran over 50K alongside me, helping me stay fuelled, focused, and moving when forward progress wasn’t guaranteed.

Thank you to Coach Derrick for guiding this 112-day build. It was a short runway, going from zero back to 100 miles. He trusted my experience to know when to push and when to hold back.

And to Jamie for keeping me strong, mobile, and grounded through the physical and mental demands of this build.

This wasn’t a perfect race.

But after everything — the injuries and burnout of 2025 — it was the race I needed.


Athletics Ontario Running

02/09/2026

Day 100 of 112 🃏
“I’m nervous. Training has been going too well.”
“You’re just waiting for the rug to get pulled out from under you?” Jamie, my strength coach, replied.
“Exactly.”

I stopped my warm up less than a minute in, to say it out loud. The little niggles are starting to whisper. Nothing dramatic. Just enough to make my brain scan for danger. Funny how when everything clicks physically and mentally, that’s when doubt tries to sneak in.

He reminded me of a few things:
I’ve matured as an athlete.
I know when to push and when to pull back.
I trust the years of training behind me.
And I’m not the same runner who let negative self talk sabotage race day.

This build has been strong. Consistent. Calm. My goal time has quietly started to drop as race day approaches. Not because I’m chasing something reckless. Because the work supports it.

Do I expect a perfect 100 miles? Is a finish guaranteed?
No.

There will be stomach issues.
Blisters.
Chafing.
A low patch somewhere in the middle where moving forward feels negotiable.

But I’m ready for the typical hiccups. I’m ready to adjust. I’m ready to respond instead of react.

The only job now is simple:
Show up healthy.
Keep my head steady.
And when something goes sideways… solve it and keep moving.

Day 112 is coming.
Just fu***ng run.

02/03/2026

Race directing isn’t clean. It isn’t perfect. And neither am I.

After the 2025 season, I wanted out.
What pulled me back in wasn’t another race — it was people.

My latest blog reflection is live.

⬇️ Read it here

Why I keep race directing when it would be easier to stop Photo credits: Norm Fortin “I don’t know how […]

01/24/2026

This 👇
"I put on races that I thought I'd enjoy running".

But stick to the end - his closing remarks really tugged at the heart. A reminder of why Race Directors do what they do.

Thanks Laz...see you at the Rock again soon.

In Over, Under, Around, or Through!, Gary Cantrell, known worldwide as Lazarus Lake, explores the deeper meaning of failure—and why the willingness to risk i...

12/31/2025

Dear 2025,
I didn’t get the year I planned.
I got the year I needed to face.

Dear 2025 We were supposed to crush it.In the end, you absolutely disappointed me. The 2024 racing season ended abruptly. […]

12/20/2025

Day 50 of 112 🎰
There are benchmark distances and mileage that quietly tell you you’re ready. Ready to build. Ready to trust the training. Ready to say the injury is, finally, behind you.

This week, mine are clear: a 30+ km long run and more than 80 km of weekly mileage.

After many years of playing this game, this is the real work. Finding the sweet spot where risk and reward shake hands instead of fight.

A few years ago, my body couldn’t handle long runs over 30 km or weekly mileage north of 100 km. Life stress piled on, recovery thinned out, and there simply wasn’t room to go further. Still, the years of training carried me to the start line ready enough. But, those races weren’t about speed. They were mental. Strategic. Survival.

Last year, I came back stronger. Focused. Fifty-kilometre runs clicked off with ease. With joy.
And then I 🤬 up my hip pulling a tire. (Did I tell that story yet?)

Now, with two months to go, I feel that body from many years ago again. That drive. But I’m also staring down a January stacked with stressors. The kind you don’t schedule but still have to carry.

This is the balance I’m chasing now.
Not just physical load, but mental and emotional weight too.
What can I handle?
What can I recover from?

The goal hasn’t changed.
Toe the start line fit. Strong.
Mentally and physically intact.

12/15/2025

Registration for the 2026 Russell Run Club is OPEN.

Our group runs are always open to everyone. But membership helps us do things the right way.

✔️ Registered with Athletics Ontario Running
✔️ Trained run leads & certified coaching
✔️ Safe, inclusive programs (including youth)
✔️ Insurance, events, partnerships & perks
✔️ A generous volunteer appreciation program

And yes… there’s value too 👀
🎽 Member discounts
🎉 Social events
🤝 Local partner perks
✨ Club swag

Sign up before Jan 31 and you’ll be entered to win one of TWO Garmin watches, courtesy of Garmin & the Trans Canada Trail

🔗https://athleticsreg.ca/ #!/events/russell-run-club-2026

11/10/2025

🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️ Spring Training Clinics — Registration Now Open! ❄️✨
Whether you're building toward your first 10K, aiming for your strongest Half, or training for the Marathon, we’ll train together every Thursday night this winter. Training leads up the the St. Lawrence Marathon

🕛Time: Thursdays • 6:00–7:00 PM
📍Location: Russell Park & Ride (End of First Ave)
(Locations may vary depending on workout/conditions.)

🎽10K Training Clinic (12 Weeks)
For runners who are already running consistently and want to comfortably build toward the 10K distance — with confidence and support.
Dates: Jan 29 – Apr 23, 2026
🔗 https://www.russellrunclub.com/programs/spring2026-10km

🎽Half Marathon & Marathon Clinic (20 Weeks)
We’ll build endurance gradually, learn pacing strategy, dial in fueling, and train the mental side of finishing strong.
Dates: Dec 11, 2025 – Apr 23, 2026
🔗 https://www.russellrunclub.com/programs/spring2026-marathon

Questions? Email michelle@russellrunclub.ca

10/22/2025

The Russell Run just wrapped up its 14th year — and what a milestone it was. Nearly 300 runners registering, endless community spirit, and an incredible team of volunteers who made it all possible.

Every cone, water cup, and finish-line medal has a story behind it — one of dedication, teamwork, and heart. This event continues to grow because of the people who show up — to run, cheer, and lend a hand.

As we celebrate another record-breaking year, Race Director Michelle Leduc shares a reflection on how far we’ve come, the volunteers who make it happen, and why keeping events like the Russell Run alive takes all of us.

Read the blog here:

The 14th Annual Russell Run was a huge success! Congratulations to all who participated in this year. Your training paid off!

10/03/2025

This is not the first weekend of October I had in mind. I wanted to do some epic s**t.

Instead, I’m staring at a messy house, endless laundry, and a body that feels more wrecked than ready. Physically and mentally, I’m exhausted.

And yet—I’m at peace with it.

I spent the morning coordinating the dozen Russell Run Club members who jumped in when I put out the call for volunteers for the Russell Run in two weeks (I guess they’ve forgiven me for the chaos of last weekend?). I replied to a high school XC coach who asked us to host a practice and promote our club to their students. I read a profile of our club on the Trans Canada Trail website: Hello, Canada 👋, we’re the Russell Run Club and we’re awesome!

Then I scrolled through Norm Fortin’s photos from last weekend: smiling runners, beautiful scenery, the excitement of new distances and even top-3 finishes. And, of course, that photo of me—bagged, unable to string a thought together, let alone a sentence.

So maybe the first weekend of October isn’t about epic miles. Maybe it’s about quiet time—sewing, sketching, reading. I’m okay with that. Maybe it’s even a sign of how I should step into this next phase of life.

09/27/2025

🏃🍂 We’re creating an opportunity for people to do something epic 🥇. That’s what I remind myself, and what I hope our volunteers carry with them too.

As we count down the last hours of planning the Prescott-Russell Recreational Trail Challenge , I could focus on my own tired mind and body — but instead I’m thinking of the runners.

They’ve trained hard, shared their excitement in emails and conversations, and tonight they’ll go to bed imagining tomorrow’s finish line — just like I’ve done many times before. Some are friends I’ve watched prepare, others are strangers who will soon become part of this community.

I’m also thinking of the volunteers who gave their time to support this crazy adventure. They’ve put up with my scatter-mindedness and my obsession with details. Tomorrow, like me, I hope they’ll shift their focus fully to the runners.

Because tomorrow is about the runners. For some, it will be just another race. For others, it will be something they never thought possible. At the finish line, there will be tears of joy — and maybe even of struggle.

And on Sunday morning… when they open their maps, their Strava, or their Garmin file, they’ll see that red line stretching across Prescott-Russell. They’ll look at it with wonder, amazement, and pride, and say: I did that.

That’s what makes it epic. ✨

Athletics Ontario Running
Sentier Récréatif Prescott-Russell Recreational Trail
Trans Canada Trail
Russell Run Club

09/22/2025

Who's more likely than me to roll out of bed and decide to run 50 miles 😆
https://prescottrusselltrailchallenge.ca/